Premier Tony Wakeham and the Conservatives promised a referendum and a debate on their Churchill Falls deal. They broke their promise on the referendum, and now they’re failing to deliver a real debate. Once again, all they deliver is a broken promise.
Premier Wakeham, Government House Leader Lloyd Parrott, and the Conservatives have created restrictive rules meant to hide the Premier and stifle debate.
The Conservatives have decreased the time the government is available for questions from 36 hours in the last Churchill Falls debate to just 2 hours, capped at just 45 seconds per question.
There is zero actual debate, where Members can ask questions and discuss the details. Even a minor amendment to legislation allows for unlimited debate in House Committee.
There will be no opportunity to question anyone on the final day, when elected Members will instead deliver prepared speeches. This is particularly rich coming from a Conservative government that says people do not want to hear from politicians.
The Conservatives have also diverted significant time to guests the Official Opposition never asked for, while failing to confirm the names or titles of the guests who will appear for questions in just a few days.
To illustrate the Premier’s lack of accountability, two yet-to-be-named federal bureaucrats will be given as much time to answer questions as the Premier himself. The Conservatives seem to have forgotten that they are elected and accountable to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. They gave the negotiators their mandate and will ultimately decide whether this agreement is finalized.
This morning, Finance Minister Craig Pardy actually admitted it isn’t a real debate by referring to it as an “information session”. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve the real debate they were promised on such an important decision.
The solution is simple: provide the same rules and the same access to experts and Government that our former Liberal government provided during the 2025 debate, and stop hiding from the deal they are trying to sell to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
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